⚕️ Shoplifting in Pharmacies: A Silent Scourge with Multiple Consequences
Shoplifting in pharmacies, often referred to as shrink , represents much more than a simple financial loss. It's a daily challenge that heavily impacts the profitability and management of pharmacies.
Beyond the numbers, its impact spreads: emptied shelves create frustrating stockouts for loyal customers, an atmosphere of mistrust can tarnish the shopping experience, and staff may feel a sense of insecurity.
However, this scourge is not inevitable. Modern strategies and powerful technological tools exist to address it. It's time to see technology not as a constraint, but as a strategic ally to preserve your margins and optimize your pharmacy's environment.
🔎 Top 6 Most Targeted Products: Understand to Better Protect
To effectively protect your pharmacy, it's crucial to understand what thieves are looking for. The most targeted products share common characteristics: they are often small, high-value, lacking individual protection, and easy to conceal or resell quickly.
Identifying these items allows you to focus surveillance and prevention efforts on the most sensitive areas of the store, transforming passive surveillance into a targeted protection strategy . Knowing the at-risk aisles is the first step in implementing an effective defense. Here are the six categories of products most frequently stolen from pharmacies:
- Dermo-cosmetic products and luxury makeup.
- Infant formula and baby care items.
- Dietary supplements, vitamins, and diet products.
- Razors and their replacement blades.
- Electric toothbrushes and their replacement heads.
- Certain over-the-counter medications (pain relievers, cold treatments).
🤖 Intelligent Video Surveillance: Moving from Reaction to Proaction
Traditional video surveillance, while essential, is often limited to a reactive role: it allows for the verification of facts after a theft has been committed, making intervention impossible. Technological innovation today allows us to move beyond this stage.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing this approach by analyzing the video feeds from your existing cameras in real time . The AI is specifically trained to recognize behavioral patterns and suspicious gestures typical of theft: quickly concealing a product in a bag or pocket, lingering for an unusually long time in an aisle…
As soon as a suspicious gesture is detected, the system sends a discreet and instantaneous alert to the relevant staff on a mobile phone or tablet. This approach allows for preventive and non-confrontational intervention, such as offering assistance to the customer, defusing the situation before a theft can even take place.
📊 The Tangible Benefits of AI for Securing Your Pharmacy
Integrating an intelligent solution goes far beyond simple gesture detection. The benefits are numerous, and innovative solutions like Oxania are designed to turn these theoretical advantages into tangible results for your pharmacy. First of all, the reduction of shrink becomes tangible thanks to active prevention and a deterrent effect. Your teams are also empowered: instead of staring at screens, they receive actionable alerts and can focus on their core responsibility, advising customers.
The AI acts as a tireless virtual guard , monitoring 24/7. This technological presence is also a powerful deterrent. Finally, the system collects crucial, objective data. It helps you identify the highest-risk areas, products, and time slots via dashboards, allowing you to adjust your security and merchandising strategies for maximum efficiency .
🚀 Investing in Technology: A Winning Strategy for the Future of Your Pharmacy
Viewing AI detection technology as a simple expense would be a mistake. It is, in fact, a strategic investment for the performance and long-term viability of your pharmacy. Beyond just securing assets, it actively helps create a more serene and secure sales environment for both your honest customers and your employees.
The impact is also felt in inventory management. By limiting unexplained losses, you ensure better product availability and optimize your procurement. By effectively protecting your margins and optimizing your operations, you free up valuable resources. These resources can then be reinvested to innovate, improve the customer experience, and ensure the future growth of your pharmacy.
